It is astonishing and shameful that we’ve reached the point as a nation where the antics of a sketch-comedy troupe have a visible influence on the head of the federal government, but there’s no point denying that’s where we’re at. So, in very important news that could change the course of the presidency, and indeed the entire world, Melissa McCarthy returned to Saturday Night Live this weekend to reprise the role of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
McCarthy debuted the character a week ago, and according to Politico, Trump loathed it, particularly because Spicer was being played by a woman. The story—and that detail in particular—could just be members of Trump’s fractious staff trying to ratfuck each other, but Trump’s uncharacteristic silence about last week’s episode can’t have been a good sign. Regardless, it seems unlikely Trump will be thrilled to see McCarthy not only return, but return in high heels—specifically, the Ivanka Trump Women’s Katie 2 Dress Pump, which he’s pushing to make up for the sales Ivanka has recently lost over the whole Edda Mussolini thing.
But besides a joke that seems specifically designed to piss off the president (and maybe get us all killed), McCarthy also offers a fun tour of the Trump administration’s hostility toward the press and (relatedly!) their flexible relationship with the truth, as with this justification for Spicer’s “Atlanta” gaffe:
Yeah, I said that wrong when I said it. And then you wrote it, which makes you wrong! Because when I say something wrong, you guys should know what it is I’m meaning. You’re wrong! And that’s why you’re here. Obviously, I meant Orlanta!
Also don’t miss Spicer’s list of terrorist attacks, which is just as much bullshit as the real one but sounds more like a terrible Hardy Boys–style series:
- The Bowling Green massacre—not the Kellyanne one, the real one!
- The Horror at Six Flags
- The Slaughter at Fraggle Rock
- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The exquisite cameo from Kate McKinnon as white nationalist Keebler elf Jeff Sessions is the icing on the cake. Or it would be, if these people weren’t really running the country.
